There’s something about the start of the working week that has a clean slate feel about it.
But kicking off an exercise regime and diet on a Monday is almost certainly setting yourself up to fail.
After a weekend of binging your guilty conscience kicks in and you think to yourself ‘I must start eating healthier’ – but Monday is not the day to cut back on calories and staring hitting the gym, according to new research published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Researchers looked at two groups of people from Finland and found that we tend to eat more meat on Saturdays and Sundays, drank more alcohol and ate more carbs on Fridays and Saturdays.
But then Monday rolls around and we restrict ourselves to healthy snacks only for Friday to roll around and the booze and carb fest to start again.
Dietician Jaime Mass told Women’s Health the “I’ll get back on track on Monday” principle is a dangerous one.
She said: “It indicates an all-or nothing-mentality, which can lead to unhealthy eating habits overall.
“You’ll also start to associate the weekend with yummy food and the weekdays with restriction.”
So if you’ve binged on bacon, eggs and bagels, cakes and other goodies all weekend you’re probably going to find it harder to enjoy healthy food on a Monday.
And if you can’t enjoy your healthy food there’s almost no chance you’ll find the inspiration to get your gym gear on, right?
